In an 8-5 vote, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee moved to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress.
“Holding a witness in contempt is a serious thing, and it should be rare. But the contempt power exists for precisely this circumstance. Oversight is not a courtesy this committee extends or a favor a former official grants us. It is a constitutional obligation,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said in opening remarks.
“Seeking the truth is not a witch hunt,” he added. “Accountability is not vengeance. Accountability is what stands between the American people and a repeat of the mistakes and the very real consequences of the past.”
Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) said that the vote would create a “damaging precedent.”
“If this committee now seeks to punish a witness for asserting their constitutional protected Fifth Amendment rights, future witnesses will argue that appearing before Congress exposes them to punishment, regardless of whether they comply with the subpoena and invoke a constitutional protection,” he explained.
Fauci’s lawyer called the vote “a crude political stunt intended to punish Dr. Fauci for exercising his constitutional rights,” NBC News reports. “Today’s resolution is a continuation of Senator Paul’s personal vendetta against Dr. Fauci, who spent 50 years in public health and has saved countless lives,” his lawyer, David Schertler, said. “It is shameful and wrong that Senator Paul is abusing his power by trying to weaponize the Justice Department against an honorable public servant.”
According to the resolution to hold Fauci in contempt, Fauci “concluded his prepared testimony by stating his intent to refuse to answer questions posed by the Committee, citing the right against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.” It explains that despite Fauci receiving a presidential pardon in 2025, “Chairman Paul found the privilege of the Fifth Amendment unsupported as applied to questions pertaining to the period of the pardon and directed Dr. Fauci to answer.”
